focal point apr-11

Focal Point A

PR

IL 2011

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orthern California Professional Photographers

Focal Point APRIL 2011

2 Northern California Professional Photographers

Northern California Professional Photographers Officers

Committee Chairs and Coordinators

President Wayne Miller 925-330-8737 [email protected] 1st Vice President Programs Denny Weigand 925-336-7994 [email protected]

Membership Stacey Flurscheim 925-330-7130 [email protected] blog / Website Wayne Miller 925-330-8737 [email protected]

Send Newsletter information to: Tom O'Connor. [email protected] Deadline for submission of articles and ad copy is the 24th of each month. Information received after the deadline cannot be guaranteed publication

2nd Vice President Print Competition Tom O'Connor 925-586-2745 [email protected]

Newsletter - Focal Point Editor Tom OConnor 925-586-2745 [email protected] FP Copy Editor Denny Weigand 925-336-7994 [email protected] Hospitality Lisa Duncan 925-284-3878 [email protected]

3rd Vice President Membership Stacey Flurscheim 925-330-7130 [email protected] Treasurer Malcolm Slight 925-330-8737 [email protected] Secretary Kevallyn Paskos 925-766-3121 [email protected]

Apprentice Membership Ann Gordon 510-222-4115 [email protected]

Chairman of the Board Randy Cazinha 925-249-1999

Photographer Eduardo Cardona

Focal Point is published by Northern California Professional Photographers. Articles and comments are invited; publication is subject to space available and editorial approval. Note: Articles are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily represent the position of NCPP. Ads and flyers may or may not have the endorsement of NCPP or its Board of Directors.

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year - Free Additional / Larger Ads: 1/4 Page for 3 months -

$25 1/2 Page for 3 months -

$50 Full Page for 3 months -

$75 Change to ad -

$25 Note: Members can use the Yahoo Group email to advertise at no cost. Sustaining Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. Full Page per year - Free Non Members/Non Sustaining Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. Full Page per year - $500



Presidents Message

"Better Photography means growing as a person - Wayne Miller 4 - 5 Preparing an image for "Projected Image Comp" 6 7 April Speaker Ann Gordon

Dogs, Horses and Cats, Oh My 8 Educational Opportunity

From The Edge With Peter Lik 9 Print Comp Winners and Calendar

"PPA Style Print and Projected Comp" 10

Best of Show March 2011 11 March Meeting Images 12 - 15 "Adjustable Soft Focus Effect" Michael Kirwan 16 19 Coming on May 10, 2011 Christian Peacock 20 Membership Information 21 NCPP Presidents, Awards & Degrees 22 - 23 PPA Certification, Merit & Degree Programs 24 NCPP Membership Classifications and Fees for 2011 25 Member Advertisements & Ad Specs. 26 - 27 NCPP Sustaining Members 28 - 33 Our Neighboring Affiliates 34 Calendar - Important Dates 35 Sunset Chart 36

NCPP MEETING THIS MONTH TUESDAY, APRIL 12, 2011 Doors open at 6:15pm, meeting starts at 7pm

Come early at 6:15pm to socialize!!

Table of Contents



Is the Photograph Profession Dead? Maybe I should have titled this article Does anyone know the difference between a Professional Photographer and someone who calls himself a Professional Photographer! But that title is too long and the one I chose sparks interest and maybe controversy! The short answer is NO! Most people do not know the difference between the real (hereafter called PP) photographer and someone that calls oneself a Professional Photographer (hereafter called APP). In todays world many long time established PPs are struggling to survive because of the economy and the digital revolution. Too many of my long term PPs have closed their storefront studios and moved their studios into their homes, taken another job, tried the part-time PP job, tried to teach photography, sell photographic stuff, or closed the PP door for good. Too bad because a lot of the craftsmanship that the PP took years to perfect is slowly losing its value to the consumer. I used to think that most people knew the difference between a bad photo and a good photo, but few knew the difference between a good and a great photo. I digress: most people do not know the difference between a bad photo and a good photo. Just look at Facebook or any online social media image posts: 99.999% of these images are, well, crap. Just because the person took and posted the image their friends say oh how lovely even if it is crap. I dont know about you but I am getting tired of the blurry, noisy, bad color, hands/leg crops, camera shake, under/over exposed images that seems to be the norm. If everyone thinks these images are oh how lovely or cute it will not be long before this is the acceptable level of normal acceptable photography. Then everyone that has a point-shoot or camera-phone will also be a Photographer. Now I have seen some cool images from a camera phone so I will always say it is the photographers mind/eye that captures the images, and the camera is just a tool. I also know several people that have very expensive camera gear that cannot capture great images or even know how to use their gear. The story I got just this super duper cool camera and now I am going to be Professional Photographer. Well I put the mode dial on P for professionalyeah..right. So what am I getting at? Everyone who has a camera whether its an entry level point and shoot, Prosumer dSLR, medium format, camera-phone is a photographer period. If you can push the shutter button you can call yourself a photographer. Now comes the next level, you buy an entry level dSLR with a kit lens, you put it on P mode for professional, and BAM the camera is so good that you get a few images that you are amazed by. Then you think hell these images are amazing and I am an amazing photographer and I could make money at this. Then you start telling your friends that you can photograph their wedding, kids, family, dog, cat, guppies, whatever! Then it happens they ask how much do you charge and you get brain freeze because you didnt think this out. You earn $15-$20 per hour at your day job, and think hell, I am an artist so I can charge more..more like $30-$50 per hour. So you guestimate the wedding will last from 2pm until 10pm that is 8 hours at $50 so you say I will shoot your wedding for $400, and they say yes to your proposal. You are high on cloud nine and then you crash oh s*it I have never shot a wedding before what do I do, and how do I fake it until I make it. You have a verbal contract, no experience, no knowledge, no insurance and not much equipment, but you do have balls to book a wedding with all these no factors. You ask around, search the internet, and after an hour decide you need to buy a flash, no decent professional would show up at a wedding without one. You order a flash for $50 on eBay and hope it has instructions on how to use it in the box.

Presidents Message - Wayne Miller (aka Blogomeister / PdTG guy)



The big day is only a few weeks away and you decide that you better practice a little, so you head out to the streets with a few friends to practice on. You are in bright sunlight and snap a few images and they look great dont they until one friend asks why do they have raccoon eyes, and you blow them off cause you are an artist. The big day is here and they want you there to photograph the bride getting ready, the bridesmaids, the dress, the groomsmen and the groom getting ready too. This is all indoors and you put the camera on P because you are a professional and put the flash on auto because you havent used it before. The pictures look funny kind of overexposed but you do not know why, so you panic and just keep shooting. The day progresses and your flash dies, why because the batteries died and you didnt think to bring extras. Then you hand a friend $10 and send him off for more batteries. You have to stall the wedding party until the batteries come, so you take them outside it is noon and the sun is high after all it is June and 90 deg out in the summer sun. So you take some great shots in the blaring sun with the raccoon eyes and sweat ruining the makeup. Ah yes the ceremony is minutes away and the batteries arrive, so you reload the flash, and head inside. The wedding coordinator reminds you that no flash is allowed during the ceremony, something that you and the wedding couple never touched on. Now what Bunkie? Youre a pro so you think hmmmm this camera is so good I dont need no stinkin flash, and head inside with your 24-500mm f/3.5-5 lens. You put it in P and start shooting, and chimp each shot because you notice that each shot is blurry. But you push on and keep shooting like a Pro. Then it is time for the family formals so you line everyone up shoulder to shoulder and let their hand fall where they may. Every shot looks the same guys have their hands in the fig leaf position and the girls arms hand by their side so they all look like wide body 747s because you are shooting close up at 24mm. The receptions next and by then you are ready for a drink or two because you worked so hard. So ya slam down a few shots of courage and walk around taking photos of people as they drink and eat. You didnt ask about dinner so you drank it instead, so now you are part of the party, and snap away. You missed the cake cutting because you were trying to put the make on a member of the wedding party. Then the garter toss and flower toss comes up and youre ready, but it happens so quickly that all you get is a shot of a hand and a foot. Opps oh well I am an artist, this is my style and they will love my images. The couple whips out the door and into their ride, but you missed it because you were trying to dial in something on your camera. So after a week the couple returns from their honeymoon, you meet and hand them a disc of all the 3,000 images that you took of them in jpeg cause real pros dont need to shoot RAW. You ask for cash for the photography because you dont want Uncle Sam to get his cut nor the state sales tax because you dont have a business license or a state resale tax number. The next day you get a call from the newlyweds and she is crying, because youre such a great artist you think, no it is because all the images look like crap, and you will be hearing from their attorney Mr/Ms Professional Photographer. So this ProPhotog spent 12 hours at the wedding another 12 hours trying to fix the images in Photoshop Elements for a gross sale of $400 /24 hours for a net profit after flash/batteries of $14 per hour. You could have made more flipping burgers and the newlyweds should have hired a real professional. It is both their faults: Photographer for trying to be a pro and the couple for trying to go cheap.

NCPP Mission Statement:

The Northern California Professional Photographers is an organization dedicated to advancing the business of professional photography. Our purpose is to create an environment amongst professional photographers that will inspire each of us and to help one another grow as business professionals and artists.

Presidents Message - Wayne Miller (aka Blogomeister / PdTG guy)



Preparing your image for "Projected" Image Comp This article will remain permanently in the Focal Point.



Here are the basics for creating your "Projected Image" file. We will be setting the file type, dimensions, color space, jpg quality, pixels per inch and file name that that will qualify for NCPP Projected Image Comp. These requirements are the same as the PPA requirements with the exceptions of the two items in NOTE 2 below.

1. Create a file that will become the background for your image that is 4,000px Wide x 2,200px High @ 200 pixels per inch. (20" x 11") This size fits our monitor and will be displayed at its optimal.

2. The color space can be sRGB or RGB1998. 3. The file type is a jpg with a Quality setting of 10. Total file size not to exceed 3.5mb. 4. You can apply a color or pattern to this layer just as you would do for a printed image that you

would have entered previously in print comp. 5. Next prepare the image that you are going to insert over the background. The color space, ppi

etc needs to be the same as your background layer. 6. Size the image as you wish in either a vertical or horizontal format. The image size must be at

least 80 square inches. An example is 8" x 10". The image may be placed anywhere you want to put it on the background layer. The positioning of the image on the background layer will be part of your "Presentation" score just like with Printed print comp.

7. Add a stroke or any other edge treatment to the edge of the image you want, or not. 8. All images will be shown only with the background in the "Horizontal Format". This is the same

way that PPA is handling it. The monitor will not be rotated for vertical images. They will be shown just like the example images on the previous page.

9. There is to be no photographer name or studio name on the image. 10. Name your file with the following convention:

Member's First Name_Last Name_Image_Title_.jpg (Use _ for spaces). Example file name: Bill_Jones_Mount_Diablo_Sunset.jpg

11. More information for download or viewing at.

NOTE 1: If you plan to submit any of these images to PPA, I would initially save this file as a layered PSD or TIFF. When I was done and ready to submit to NCPP, I would then save it again as a jpg with all of the requirements listed above and submit the jpg. This way if you later decide to enter this same image with PPA, you can open your PSD/TIFF and make any changes required for PPA. NOTE 2: PPA Projected Submission Specifications match what is required for NCPP, except:

PPA requires your PPA# in place of your name in the file name: Example: 12345_Mount_Diablo_Sunset.jpg The PPA background size is 4,000px in the longest direction. Link to the PPA site for a video on How To: http://www.ppa.com/competitions/tutorials.php

ENTRY RULES AND DEADLINES:

Cost per each image is $5.00 prior to the Sunday, (at midnight), prior to the Tuesday meeting. Late fee is $10 per image up to Monday midnight. Fee is to be paid via the NCPP PayPal link. Walk-ins Projected Images day of meeting $20 per image (cash at the door)

E-mail images to [email protected]. Limit of 20 Projected images allowed per meeting. This is at the discretion of the Print Chair on a month by month basis.

Preparing your image for "Projected" Image Comp This article will remain permanently in the Focal Point.



Dogs, Horses and Cats, Oh My (with my Apologies to L. Frank Baum)

Americans spend more than $45 billion dollars a year on their pets with another 28 billion spent on their equine cousins. These companion animals are part of the family, surrogate children and best friends. Because of their status as members of the family spending on pets has been somewhat insulated from economic pressures weighing on other consumer-discretionary items. Learn to tap into this market and enjoy working with these rewarding and inspiring

subjects.

Award winning CPP Ann Gordon will cover animal psychology and management, owner management, and tips and tricks for getting that perfect expression from the four-legged types. BIO Ann Gordon considers the combination of photography and animals to be the perfect blend of two of her life's passions. A photojournalist for nearly 25 years, Ann developed a particular interest in sports photography. The skills needed for capturing images of horseracing, track and field, vaulting, swimming, and other fast paced sports are the same as those needed to make a litter of puppies look like they are waiting to have their picture taken. Ann captures the essence of companion animals using both natural and studio light to create rich artwork. A Certified Professional Photographer, her work hangs in homes and collections in the UK, across the United States and in China. She keeps up with everything photographic through her memberships in the Northern California Professional Photographers Association, the Professional Photographers of California (PPC), the Professional Photographers of America (PPA), and the Equine Photographers Network. An acknowledged expert in the field she has been selected as an instructor of animal photography by both PPC and PPA for their professional enrichment programs. The Gordon home boasts three dogs: a Jack Russell Terrier and two Gordon Setters (what else?). Ann handles them in the show ring, in obedience trials and in the field. Mostly they sleep on her bed and under and on her desk sharing all her daily activities. The endurance riding and jumping of her youth has been replaced by competitive and pleasure carriage driving, dressage, and long trail rides in the company of her Friesian gelding.

NCPP Proudly Presents on April 12th, 2011 Ann Gordon

6:15-7 PM: Socialize: Network with other photographers in meeting room. 7:00 PM: Meeting Starts NCPP members are free, Guest fee is $20 in advance or $30 at the door the day of the event. (Click here Early Bird $20.00 PayPal)



Beginning Thursday, March 31st, and continuing every Thursday, there will be thirteen 30 minute programs on The Weather Channel titled From The Edge With Peter Lik. See your local TV listing for times and channels. The Weather Channel covers all things weather by providing you with a variety of inspiring and entertaining HD programming delivered by passionate personalities. This includes awe-inspiring weather coverage from experts who make weather fascinating, as well as surprising and dramatic documentary shows that reveal how weather shapes our world. Peter is very passionate about his photography. There are many videos on The Weather Channel as well as on his website so you can get a feeling for his passion and inspiring personality.

About the Show: Join one of the world's most acclaimed photographers in a brand-new action adventure nature series slated to debut on March 31, 2011 at 8PM on The Weather Channel.

Hosted by Peter Lik, a native of Australia and one of the world's most awarded and collected fine art photographers, the show documents his odyssey across the United States in search of nature's most dramatic landscapes. The camera follows as he visits locations as varied as the volcanoes of Hawaii to the snows of

Alaska's Denali National Park, often while battling or embracing the weather in his quest for the perfect shot. Throughout his travels, Lik reveals the country in a whole new perspective, capturing its diverse climates and natural beauty through his lens. "Bringing viewers along on my travels across the beautiful country will allow them to see parts of America that many have not had the pleasure of experiencing," says Lik.

Bringing weather to life The show - the network's first foray into original programming - was inspired in part by the thousands of viewers who share their passion for capturing Mother Nature by sending in their own photos to The Weather Channel and weather.com every week. This natural connection between photography and weather comes to life through the camera lens of Master Photographer Peter Lik, whose unique point of view will give viewers an amazing look at the country and some of its most treasured landscapes. Throughout the 13-episode season, Lik will travel far and wide across the country, to places as varied as the Big Island of Hawaii, the mountains of Montana and the awe-inspiring vistas of Arizonas Grand Canyon, among many others. I have taken the liberty to pass on to all of our members some of the information that is readily available on The Weather Channel web site http://www.weather.com/tv/tvshows/peter-lik, so most of the information shown in my article is credited to The Weather Channel and Peter Lik.

Educational Opportunity by: Tom OConnor



April 2011 has two different types of print competition: PPA Style Print and PPA Style Projected If you are interested in volunteering with image comp, please contact: Tom O'Connor at 925-586-2745 or Email Tom @ [email protected] The next NCPP PPA Style Image Competition will be at the April 12, 2011 meeting and we will have both "Print" and "Projected" image competition. For more information on "Projected" see Table of Contents on page 3 of the Focal PointPreparing an image for "Projected Image Comp" 2011 Print Comp Calendar: May: PPA Style / Jun: PPA Style / Jul: Peoples Choice / Aug: PPA Style / Sep: PPA Style / Oct: PPA Style / Nov: Peoples Choice

CONGRATULATIONS!!!! 1st Place - Wayne Miller Abandonment"

2nd Place Tish Wentzel Take Me Out to the Ballgame 3rd Place Denny Weigand Reflections

Print Comp Winners and Calendar

Images by Eduardo Cardona



Abandonment is an image that was captured in Bodie, CA a ghost town off Hwy 395 south of Bridgeport. If you have never been there it is a trip worth taking, it is an old mining town that has a ton of old buildings, and old vehicle in decay. The town, a State Park, is snowed in for winter accessible by snowmobile only and auto drivable during spring to early winter. I was on a road trip, in Sept. 2010, with Tom OConnor and we hit Yosemite, Alabama Hills, Bristlecone Forest, and the last stop was Bodie. I have been to Bodie several times and this time we had some great clouds. Normally during my other visits there were no clouds and the light bad, as the area opens at 8am and closes at 6pm. So the best time of year to visit is spring and late fall because of the low sun angle and hopefully storm clouds. The image was an HDR capture, Canon 5d Mk2, 24-70mm f2.8 at 30mm / f/10, and bracketed 0, +2, -2 (1/100, 1,25, 1/400 shutter speeds). Images were brought into Lightroom, viewed, flagged as picks, then processed first in Photomatix Pro 4.0 for the HDR conversation, next brought into Photoshop CS5: Nose reduction in Noise Ninja, copy the image and then I used the PS plug in Topaz Adjust to boost color, and add some texture. I then used a PS plug in Pixel Bender Oil Painting for the painterly affect. Back in PS I copied the final image to another layer, used Gaussian blur, changed the layer mode to Soft light, and lowered opacity to about 50% for the final image. I then save the image, copy the image file in PS, and close the original. Then I pull up my NCPP Comp file 4000x2200x200dpi file, pull in my image (flattened) and size it by transforming it to fit with a border. .Wayne Miller, Cr.Photog., CPP

Best of Show March 2011 - "Abandonment" by Wayne Miller



March Meeting Images



When shooting portraits with film I very often use my 150 mm soft focus lens on my old RB 67. Using the No. 3 disk, I get a very flattering image that smoothes out the skin without getting the halo effect you can get with the No.1 and No. 2 disks. I have to admit I prefer the results of getting in-camera soft focus over effects you typically get in Photoshop. So not every shoot will be done on film, so I set out on a quest to see if I could emulate the effect I can get on film, along with a challenge to see if the effect could be non-destructive, and allow for the soft focus effect to be varied. The technique I will cover is known as Inverted High Pass and uses Smart Objects to enable the effect to be fine tuned. So here goes.

Adjustable Soft Focus Effect - by Michael Kirwan



First open your image in Photoshop and make the usual adjustments, clean up the blemishes, tidy the hair etc. Now we can go to work giving this image a soft focus effect.

Step 1 Duplicate our image, always a smart move

Step 2 Go to Image adjustments, Brightness and Contrast, select the legacy box and set the contrast to -50. Do not use the adjustment control panel, as that will put this adjustment on a new layer, this is not what we want. Dont forget to turn Use Legacy off when you have finished. This control is sticky and easy to forget the option is turned on

Step 3 Invert the Layer, go to Image, Adjustments, Invert or use the keyboard shortcut CTL+I

Step 4 Right click the layer and select convert to smart objects. Depending on the power of your computer this can take some time to complete, so patience is a virtue

Step 5 Change the Blend Mode to Linear Light

Step 6 Zoom into 100% and select an area of the skin so you can see the effects

Step 7 Go to Filter, Other and select High Pass. Now play with the slider adjustment, what we are looking the largest skin detail we want to cover up. In this example I set the High Pass Radius to 2.6, but will depend on the image and skin of the subject. As we are using Smart Objects you can always go back and change the settings

Step 8 Go to Filter, Gaussian Blur. In this example I set the Radius to 2.2. Again, your mileage may vary, so experiment and as with Step 7 we can always go back and change the adjustment later

Step 9 Now we need to create a mask which is filled with black. To do this hold the Alt Key (PC), Command (Mac) and click the Mask icon at the bottom of the Layers Panel

Step 10 Now select the Brush, I like to use a soft edged brush and make sure white is the active color. I set the Opacity and Flow to 100%, this is a personal preference, so experiment to see what works best for you. Now paint carefully over the skin areas and other areas of the image where you want the soft focus, or smoothing effect. If you make a mistake, hit X to change the brush color to black and paint over the areas you want to restore.




Your Layers Panel should look like this:

Now you can fine tune the effect, there are a number of ways to do this. First you can experiment with the Opacity of the layer. Or better yet, you can double click on the Gaussian Blur or High Pass filters in the Layers Panel and fine tune your adjustments. If you find areas that need to be corrected, you can now duplicate the background layer (below the Smart Filters) in the Layers Pane, and use the Clone Tool, Healing Brush etc to fine tune your image. Often I find stray hairs and other small defects that do not show up until the image has been sharpened The image below shows the result of this technique, which pretty much emulates the results I get with my soft focus lens.




While I do love using my Soft Focus lens, there is one disadvantage; it applies the effect to the entire image, whereas with this technique there is far more control as it is applied selectively. The other advantage of using this inverted high pass technique is it eliminates the chalky skin texture you sometime get when using the High Pass filter. There are other variations you can try with this technique, you are not limited to Gaussian Blur, you could try Surface Blur or one of the Noise filters, Median is a good choice. So dont be afraid to experiment. The other nice feature of this technique is it does not have to be applied just to skin. It works well on backgrounds as well, so sort of multi-purpose tool. Throwing in a bonus tip; the model in the above picture has amazing blond hair. I thought it would be good to accentuate the highlights at the top right of her head. Now instead of using the Dodge Tool, I created a new layer above our background copy, filled the layer with White (Edit, Fill, Contents, white). Then created a mask by clicking on the Mask icon in the Layer Panel and filled with Black (Edit, Fill; Contents; black). Now select the Paint Brush, set the color to white, use a soft edged brush, set the Opacity to 15% and the Flow to 15% and gently paint in the highlight areas in the hair. Hope you found this useful and happy snapping.




Do What You Love and the Money Will Follow Our speaker for May 2011 is Christian Peacock, a commercial photographer and renowned lecturer on the subject of photography and how it influences our lives as professionals. Christian will explain to us why he takes photographs, and how his love of photography projects onto his clients. His enthusiasm and energy translates into sales. This is which we do. Christian adopted this expression to explain to people why he takes photographs. Its something I have to do Its in my DNA. He captures the human spirit using his camera. His lifelong relationship with photography is compelled by his curiosity to observe and participate. From his very first photograph at the age of five to a very prolific creative burst of energy today, Christian will talk about the influence photography has on everyone. Using examples of his lifework, he will share commonalities we all have with this medium. Showing examples of his commissioned work from worldwide branding campaigns, as well as personal images, he will explain how the images all have some connection to our lives. He uses all forms of image capture ranging from 4x5 cameras to iPhones and multi-media to video to achieve his vision and tell the story. Christian will inspire us with his positive message of Do what you love and the money will follow. The enthusiasm in which we approach our photographic endeavors will carry over to our clients, resulting in more income. Bio: Christian Peacock captures the human spirit using his camera. His lifelong relationship with photography is compelled by his curiosity to observe and participate. Beginning his career in New York City, he then relocated back home to San Francisco in the early 1990s. His skills have been utilized by major advertising agencies and companies in the healthcare, pharmaceutical and service industries. From large-scale productions to simple one on one sessions, Christians abilities have helped humanized stories for the global market. Among Christians clients in his twenty year career are US Census Bureau, AT&T, Bank of America, Charles Schwab, Eli Lilly, Genentech, GlaxoSmithKline, GE, PG&E, Bayer, Roche, Farmers Insurance, YMCA, Comcast, United Way, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Second Harvest, Kashi, Fresh Air Fund. Christian has also published a series of Paris photography that have been top selling posters around the world. His photography has been recognized in Communication Arts, One Show, Addy and recently in Philanthropy.com for one of the outstanding photographs in the field of philanthropy. Recent events: San Francisco lecture on the influence of photography in our lives. Nationwide Apple store iphoneography events. Popular Photography Digital Days keynote address speaker. APA panel discussion on estimating. Mechanics' Institute - Gallery opening of Paris Exhibition. You can see more of Christians work at www.christianpeacock.com

NCPP Proudly Presents on Tuesday, May 10th: Christian Peacock



Contact Stacey Flurscheim with / for any Membership Information Stacey Flurscheim @ 925-330-7130

NCPP has a new web presence with a Meetup group. Join NorCalProPhotogs now for free. NCPP-Meet-Up

If you have comments or information regarding new applicants, please send them to: Stacey Flurscheim, NCPP Membership Chair: [email protected]

Membership Information

NorCalProPhotogs - Meetup

WELCOME NEW NCPP MEMBERS!! Caleb Cheong - Aspiring Caleb Cheong Photography 974 Stannage Avenue, Albany 94706 Ph: 303-234-3278 Web: http://calebcheong.wordpress.com Email: [email protected] Sponsor: Needs a Sponsor Dirk Wentling Professional Active Wentlings Studio 1804 Colfax Street, Concord, CA 94520 Ph: 925-685-7760 Email: [email protected] Website: www.wentlingstudio.com PROSPECTIVE NCPP MEMBERS Jean Slavin Professional Active Jean Slavin Photography 1046 Vista Pointe Circle, San Ramon, 94582 Ph: 925-785-2075 Web: www.jeanslavinhotography.com Email: [email protected] Sponsor: Needs a Sponsor Jenni Harmon Professional Active Wentlings Studio 1804 Colfax Street, Concord, CA 94520 Ph: 925-685-7760 Email: [email protected] Website: www.wentlingstudio.com Sponsor: Dirk Wentling Yolanda Mendoza Professional Active Y Mendoza Photographer 804 Vineyard Court, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523 Ph: 510-435-4357 Email: [email protected] Website: www.ymendozaphotography.com Sponsor: Denny Weigand

PROSPECTIVE NCPP MEMBERS Joe Messina Professional Active Messina Photography 602 West K Street, Benicia, CA 94510 Ph: 707-373-9692 Email: [email protected] Website: www.messinaphotography.com Sponsor: Michael Van Auken Bill Baker Professional Active Bill Baker Photography 220 Lexington Avenue, San Leandro, CA 94577 Ph: 510-701-7685 Email: [email protected] Websites: www.billbakerimages.com and www.billbakerphoto.com Sponsor: Needs a Sponsor Stephen (Tony) Gotelli - Aspiring Business Name 1108 Springfield Ct., Antioch, CA 94531 Ph: 925-550-9400 Email: [email protected] Websites: Sponsor: Needs a Sponsor Marilyn Cunningham - Aspiring Business Name 1421 Lydia Lane, Clayton, CA 94517 Ph: 925-200-0413 Email: [email protected] Websites: Sponsor: Needs a Sponsor



NCPP Past Presidents

1998 Michael Van Auken 1999 Judy Host 2000 Jim Fidelibus 2001 Linda Johnson 2002 Walter Guasch 2003 Kimberly Peterson 2004 Jim Fidelibus

2005 Michael Gan 2006 Michael Gan 2006-2007 Laura Cottril 2007-2008 Leslie Artis-Gan 2008-2009 Brent Walton 2009-2010 Randy Cazinha 2010-2011 Wayne Miller

NCPP Member of the Year 1998 Peg Jackson 1999 Michael Van Auken 2000 Jim Fidelibus 2001 Jim Fidelibus 2002 Kay Simon 2003 Shelly Najera 2004 Linda Johnson

2005 Heather M. Whiting 2006 Michael Gan 2007 Laura Cottril 2008 Tom O'Connor 2009 Brent Walton 2010 Wayne Miller

Photographer of the Year 1998 Peg Jackson 1999 Jim Fidelibus 2000 Richard Stahlberg 2001 Michael Gan 2002 Richard Stahlberg 2003 Shelly Najera 2004 Leslie Artis

2005 Richard Stahlberg 2006 Leslie Artis-Gan 2007 Michael Van Auken - Tie 2007 Richard Stahlberg - Tie 2008 Richard Stahlberg 2009 Wayne Miller 2010 Wayne Miller

NCPP Member Awards



If you should be included, or if you know the names of anyone else who should be shown here, please email me at [email protected] so I can include them. At some point, this message will be removed from the FP. Thanks, Tom

PPA Master Craftsman Photographers Lisa Evans Peg Jackson Michael Gan Judy Host Leslie Artis-Gan PPA Master Photographers Jim Fidelibus Linda Johnson Deidre Ligenfelter Mary Small

PPA Craftsman Photographers Denny WeigandWayne Miller PPA Certified Professional Photographers Leslie Artis-Gan Laura Cottril Lisa Duncan Michael Gan Jill Hager Judy Host Greta Heintz Tammy Hughes Linda Johnson Scott Kouns

Dana Smith Richard Stahlberg Arleen Thomas Darleen Tom Denny Weigand Wayne Miller Brent Walton Pam Biasotti Jennifer Chesterman

Jennifer Fink Stacey Flurscheim Nicole Gee Tod Gomes Ann Gordon Malcolm Slight Terry Riggins Mary Small

NCPP Member Degrees



If you are interested in becoming a Certified Professional Photographer, Master of Photography, Master of Electronic Imaging or a Photographic Craftsman, click here. This link will take you to the PPA website and you will see the page shown below. The image below is just a screen shot of the website, the links are not hot on this screen shot.

PPA Certification, Merit & Degree Programs



Professional Active:

Annual Dues $135. A professional photographer is an individual who on a regular basis, takes and sells photographs or photographic services. Must satisfy federal, state (resale permit), & local license requirements. Professional Active members have full membership privileges (Free meetings, voting, use of NCPP logo for self promotional use, and image competition).

Aspiring*: Annual Dues $135. An individual who does not work in the photographic field, or derive any income from photography but plans to enter the profession. Limited to one year. Membership privileges: meetings and entering image competition, but may not vote, hold office or use the NCPP logo. May not actively sell photography or advertise/promote themselves as a photographer for hire. Limited 20% enrolment. Student*: Annual Dues $50. Members preparing for a career in the photography and currently enrolled in a school as a full time student. Applicant must show evidence for enrollment. Membership privileges: meetings and entering image competition, but may not vote, hold office or use the NCPP logo. Limited 10% enrolment. Sustaining: Annual Dues $150. Membership issued to the business name of the organization, which is a supplier, vendor, or manufacturer of photographic materials, supplies or photographic services. One representative of the organization shall have meeting privileges only, additional pay guest fees. * Aspiring & Student Classifications must assist/help six events per year to maintain classification or move to Professional Active.

NCPP Membership Classifications and Fees for 2011



Ad sizes are: 1/4 Page: 4-1/4 Wide x 5-1/2 High 1/2 Page: 8-1/2 Wide x 5-1/2 High Full Page: 8-1/2 Wide x 11 High Spec is: Jpg @ 94ppi Color Space: sRGB Include at least 1/8 of white space at the outer edges the

sizes listed above.

Focal Point Advertising Information

Advertising Costs: 11 Issues per year NCPP Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. 1/4 page for 3 months per

year - Free Additional / Larger Ads: 1/4 Page for 3 months -

$25 1/2 Page for 3 months -

$50 Full Page for 3 months -

$75 Change to ad -

$25 Note: Members can use the Yahoo Group email to advertise at no cost. Sustaining Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. Full Page per year - Free Non Members/Non Sustaining Members: You supply camera ready

art work and text. Full Page per year - $500



Sustaining Members are companies that manufacture or distribute photographic equipment, laboratories, publishers or firms providing services to photographers. These Sustaining Members also contribute to the welfare of NCPP, with monetary and technical support. Sustaining Members may participate in all NCPP events, however they may not vote or hold office. We encourage our NCPP members to support our Sustaining Members. If you are interested in becoming a Sustaining Member, contact Denny Weigand. 925-336-7994 or E-mail @ [email protected] -Listed Alphabetically- THE ART OF PICTURE FRAMING APF is a full-service wholesale custom framing facility. We work closely with Fine Art and Framing Galleries, Interior Designers, Professional Photographers, Art Consultants, Retailers and others in need of custom framing at wholesale prices. APF specializes in creating custom programs or packages to your individual business or market needs. We offer superior quality with flexible pricing to fit your individual needs. Contact: Mike Moretti 1084 Shary Circle, #B Concord, CA 94518 (Located behind Costco) E-mail: [email protected] 925-689-5177 web: http://stores.apfwholesale.com/StoreFront.bok

NCPP Sustaining Members



BAY PHOTO LAB Contact: Debbie Thomas E-mail: [email protected] 510-585-7049 web: http://www.bayphoto.com/ 2161 Delaware Ave. Santa Cruz, CA 95060 800-435-6686 fax: 931-475-5257




PPC Professional Photographers of California Affiliates

Company Name City Phone Web Site

All Valley Professional Photographers - AVPP La Canada Flintridge

(818) 262-7903

Associated Image Makers - AIM Fairfield 1-888-442-6606

Central Valley Professional Photographers - CVPP Fresno 559 266-0305

Channel Islands Professional Photographers Association - CIPPA Camarillo (805) 573-7637

Gold Coast Professional Photographers Association - GCPPA Pismo Beach 805 733-5197

Inland Empire Professional Photographers & Videographers - IEPPV Riverside 951-737-7310

Northern California Professional Photographers - NCPP Walnut Creek 925 330-8737

Professional Photographers of California Escondido

Professional Photographers of Los Angeles County - PPLAC Culver city (818) 344-0671

Professional Photographers of North Valley - PPNV Redding 530-241-2191

Professional Photographers of Orange County - PPOC Mission Viejo 949.916.2471

Professional Photographers of Sacramento Valley - PPSV Sacramento 530 363-0138

Professional Photographers of San Diego County - PPSDC San Diego (858) 695-9563

Professional Photographers of Santa Barbara County - PPSBC Santa Barbara (805) 403-6556

Professional Photographers of Santa Clara Valley - PPSCV San Jose 408 244-2293

Professional Photographers of the Greater Bay Area - PPGBA So. San Francisco

530 574-6033

Professional Photographers of the Redwood Empire - PPRE Santa Rosa 707 548-1181

Stanislaus Professional Photographers - SPP Modesto 209 847-0540

Our Neighboring Affiliates

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MON 2 1 3 2 MON

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WED 4 1 3 5 2 4 WED

THUR 5 2 4 1 6 3 1 5 THUR

FRI 1 6 3 1 5 2 7 4 2 6 FRI

SAT Business101 7 4 2 6 3 8 5 3 7 SAT

SUN 3 8 5 3 7 4 9 6 4 8 SUN

MON 4 9 6 4thofJULY 8 5 10 7 5 9 MON

TUE 5 8Meeting 7 5 9Meeting 6 11Meeting 8Meeting 6 8Meeting TUE

WED 6 11 8 6 10 7 12 9 7 11 WED

THUR 7 12 9 7 11 8 13 10 8 12 THUR

FRI 8 13 10 8 12 9 14 11 9 13 FRI

SAT 9 14 11 9 13 10 15 12 10 14 SAT

SUN 10 15 12 10 14 11 16 13 11 15 SUN

MON 11 PPASuperMon Tip-W Miiler 11 15 12 17 14 12 16 MON

TUE 12Meeting 17 14Meeting 12Meeting 16 13Meeting 18 15 13NOmeeting 17 TUE

WED 13 18BoardMeet 15 13 17 14 19 16 14 18 WED

THUR 14 19 16 14 18 15 20 17 15 19 THUR

FRI 15 20 17 15 19 16 21 18 16 20 FRI

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TUE 19 24 21 19 23 20 25-FP Due 22 20 24 TUE

WED 20 25-FP Due 22 20 24 21 26 23 21 25-FP Due WED

THUR 21 26 23 21 25-FP Due 22 27 24 22 26 THUR

FRI 22 27 24 22 26 23 28 25-FP Due 23 27 FRI

SAT 23 28 25-FP Due 23 27 24 29 26 24 28 SAT

SUN 24 29 26 24 28 25-FP Due 30-FP Pub 27 25 29 SUN

MON 25-FP Due 30-Fp Pub 27 25-FP Due 29 26 28 26 30-Fp Pub MON

TUE 26 31 28 26 30-FP Pub 27 29 27 31 TUE

WED 27 29 27 28 30-FP Pub 28 WED

THUR 28 30-FP Pub 28 29 29 THUR

FRI 29 31 29 30-FP Pub 30- FRI

SAT 30-FP Pub 30-FP Pub SAT

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2011 APR MAY JUNE JULY AUGUST SEPTEMBER OCTOBER NOVEMBER DECEMBER JANUARARY 2011



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This information is for Walnut Creek. You can obtain sunset times for other locations at http://www.sunrisesunset.com/

Sunset Table

2011 Planner 3 April FP.pdf6-2011

focal point apr-11

Documents

year ncpp members

ncpp sustaining members

ncpp presidents

endorsement of ncpp

membership information

position of ncpp

camera ready art work

membersnon sustaining